This Melania Trump Selfie Was Met With Tons of Backlash

The Trump family has been plagued with controversy since Donald Trump took office in 2017. Next to the president himself, his wife, Melania Trump, has received some of the harshest criticisms from the public. Here are a few of Melania’s biggest controversies, plus a recent selfie (page 5) that did not go over well with her critics.

Her Republican National Convention speech

Many people believe that Trump plagiarized parts of this speech from former first lady Michelle Obama’s Democratic National Convention speech eight years earlier. Certain lines sounded strangely familiar to Obama’s speech — particularly the lines that addressed passing values and lessons down to future generations. Yes, it’s possible that speeches like this tend to carry the same theme and therefore might have similar sentence structure. We’ll never know what Trump’s intentions were when she spoke those too-similar words.

Her very (very) expensive outfits

Melania Trump is known for her expensive taste. | Giovanni Isolino/AFP/Getty Images

It’s hard to deny that the first lady has some truly amazing style. However, how much she spends on that style has some people rolling their eyes. When Trump showed up to the G-7 summit wearing a $51,500 jacket, heads turned for all the wrong reasons. While the floral jacket might have been a show stopper, we’re not sure why it was worth more than $50,000. However, maybe it’s not our problem to worry about the former supermodel’s fashion choices.

Her outfit during Hurricane Harvey

It doesn’t look like she’ll be doing much heavy lifting in these. | Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Trump has come under fire for her outfit choices more than once, and the Hurricane Harvey scandal was no exception. Although it can hardly be called a “scandal,” Trump did board Air Force One in a pair of sky-high stilettos that left many thinking she was completely out of touch with society. They were probably right. Social media led the attack on her fashion choice. However, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director, did make a good point: “It’s sad that we have an active and ongoing natural disaster in Texas, and people are worried about her shoes.”

Her anti-bullying campaign

Melania Trump took on cyber-bullying as her cause because of attacks on her son. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

The first lady typically picks one issue to focus on throughout her husband’s presidency. Trump chose anti-bullying. Some think it was because her son, Barron, was the target of some pretty vicious verbal attacks during the presidential campaign. However, many believe that her stance on bullying is a direct contradiction to her husband’s behavior. She’s had to defend herself multiple times, stating that her anti-bullying movement is completely separate from her husband’s words and the work he does.

Her Christmas selfie

What seemed like an innocent selfie turned into another embarrassing situation for the first lady. On Christmas morning, the first lady posted a filtered selfie of her making a face and wearing a fake Christmas hat. While some saw it as harmless, others saw it as inappropriate and tweeted their thoughts. It’s evident that even on Christmas, people don’t want to spread any holiday cheer to the first lady.

Her awkward run-in with Prince Harry

He probably wasn’t trying to mean anything by it. | Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation

When Prince Harry and Trump posed for a photo op, things got awkward. Prince Harry’s hand gesture sent many heads spinning across the world. Some likened it to meaning that the devil was in the room. Others thought the stance of the two spoke for itself about how awkward this little meet and greet was. Some experts believed the hand gesture was a “comfort cue” meaning that he was trying to ward off anything evil.

Her marriage to Donald Trump

They don’t always look thrilled to be in each other’s company. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

While the age difference might not be anything to complain about — some of the most famous stars have massive age gaps — many people question whether or not this presidential couple is actually in love. Nobody can forget the infamous frown during the inauguration or that time Trump swatted away her husband’s attempt to hold her hand. Maybe the first lady is trapped in her marriage, or maybe the two just have an interesting way of showing their affection. We’ll probably never know.